Jan 15, 2011

First Ride of 2011: Rain!

I was checking out Fuzzygalore (http://www.fuzzygalore.com/) the other day and looking at all the snow photos from NY...when suddenly I felt like such a wimpy girl for not riding yet this year. I mean, at least Fuzzy has an excuse...snow piled high all around. Me, I'm just surrounded by a little Northwest rain and the occasional cold front. It's not like I haven't ridden in that stuff before. In May I was riding through Montana with the temperature gauge on the Beast flashing 29 degrees with it's cute snowflake, just in case I didn't realize it was cold outside.

So today I decided to ride the moto to my ADAPT (http://www.adapttraining.com/) workout with my team. I'm only about 20 miles from ADAPT but the rain was pouring so I donned my heated jacket and my Aerostitch Darien's and set off! I spent the first five minutes of my ride wondering why I haven't ridden sooner. I mean really, somehow I had forgotten that the Beast is a miracle machine. The power with just a tiny twist of the wrist, the surge forward, the intense joy as I lean into a corner.

I had also forgotten that my Darien's are old and not all that waterproof anymore. That my arms are at an angle that allows the rain to slide into my gloves with ease. And that the Gerbing jacket works best when plugged in!

2005 KLR, maybe my second bike?

Even so, the ride was magnificent! I slashed and sloshed through puddles and smiled as the rain pounded my helmet. Suddenly selling the Beast and downgrading to a 650GS seems like a bad idea. I mean, sure, I can pick that one up if I drop it, but truth be told, I haven't dropped the Beast yet. It will happen one day but hopefully I'll have other people around to help pick it up. And, in order to truly experience all the riding bliss I'd like to, wouldn't TWO bikes serve me better? Maybe a zippy little dual sport (KLR?) that's light and easy to maneuver and the Beast that's awesome for longer rides and adventuring?

Lucky for me there's no one to tell me "No." I mean, Trout doesn't care how many bikes I buy as long as she keeps getting her Milkbones and an endless supply of Hedgehog toys.

1 comment:

And secondly - If hi-fiving weren't so tragically corny I'd give you one! I am totally with you in that occasionally we have what i imagine is like a moment of clarity when you say to yourself... well? Why not? and then just do it.

What started as a rainy day ended with a great ride. What's better than that? And hey.. you ADAPTed! (see what i did there? Okay, I'm leaving now.)

I can't go into the multi-bike can of worms. Its a disease and i will not be responsible for enabling you!

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Wet Trout

This blog is named after my dog Trout, who is often wet...and ironically, a wet trout is a fisherman's term that means "to smack a person with a fresh trout for being an idiot" and I'm often an idiot.

In addition to being an idiot, I'm a certified BBQ judge who enjoys traveling, writing, ghost hunting, motorcycles, Glamping in my RV, floating the river and kayaking, hiking, fishing, and spending time with my furball. I'm sarcastic, witty, over-educated, and quite possibly the most annoying person you'll ever meet. Welcome to my world.